Insert molding and insert molding quality determination device

ABSTRACT

An insert molding includes a lithium-ion battery, temperature measurement element and a pressure measurement element disposed close to the lithium-ion battery to sense temperature and pressure around the lithium-ion battery during insert molding; and a molding resin that covers the lithium-ion battery, the temperature measurement element, the pressure measurement element and a cover member.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromprior Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-194992, filed Oct. 5, 2017,the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to an insert molding foruse in electronic components and the like and an insert molding qualitydetermination device.

BACKGROUND

Technologies to downsize products and simplify manufacturing processesby building electronic components and the like in a resin molding byinsert molding have recently been proposed, as disclosed in, forexample, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 4-252739.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the invention, an insert molding comprises aninsert component, a sensor disposed close to the insert component tosense a state around the insert component during insert molding, and amolding resin that covers the insert component and the sensor.

According to an aspect of the invention, an insert molding qualitydetermination device that determines quality of an insert componentafter the insert component is resin-molded, the insert molding qualitydetermination device comprises a sensing signal input unit that issupplied with a sensing signal from a sensor disposed close to theinsert component to sense a state around the insert component duringinsert molding, and a first determination unit that determines whetherthe resin molding is normal or abnormal based on the sensing signal.

Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in thedescription which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theadvantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of theinstrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, andtogether with the general description given above and the detaileddescription of the embodiments given below, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an insert molding quality determinationsystem according to a first embodiment and an insert molding excluding asealing resin.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of the insert molding quality determinationsystem and the insert molding.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process of the insert molding qualitydetermination system.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an example of the insertmolding (during normal operation).

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the example of theinsert molding (during normal operation).

FIG. 6 is a graph showing temperature variations in the example of theinsert molding (during normal operation).

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an example of the insertmolding (during abnormal operation).

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the example of theinsert molding (during abnormal operation).

FIG. 9 is a graph showing temperature variations in the example of theinsert molding (during abnormal operation).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-3 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 1 and2 illustrate an insert molding quality determination system 10 and aninsert molding 20. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process of the insertmolding quality determination system 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the insert molding quality determination system 10includes an insert molding 20 and a system controller 100. The insertmolding 20 includes a substrate 21, a lithium-ion battery (insertcomponent) 30 of a secondary battery and an electronic component 40,which are mounted on the substrate 21.

A temperature measurement element (sensor) 50 and a pressure measurementelement (sensor) 60 are arranged around the lithium-ion battery 30 assensors that sense physical properties such as temperature and pressure,which are applied to the lithium-ion battery 30 of an insert componentduring insert molding. The output of the temperature measurement element50 is connected to the electronic component 40 through a lead 51 andsupplied with a temperature sensing signal. The output of the pressuremeasurement element 60 is connected to the electronic component 40through a lead 61 and supplied with a pressure measurement signal. As isevident from the foregoing descriptions, the output signals of thetemperature measurement element (sensor) 50 and the pressure measurementelement (sensor) 60 are not directly supplied to the lithium-ion battery30.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lithium-ion battery 30 is coveredwith a cover member 70 such as laminated aluminum foil, and the covermember 70 is bonded to the substrate 21. The cover member 70 is providedto prevent the lithium-ion battery 30 from being degraded due to ahigh-temperature resin. The normal operation guaranteed temperature ofthe lithium-ion battery 30 is, for example, 60° C.

The electronic component 40 is, for example, a clock and a GPS driven bythe lithium-ion battery 30, and includes a communication controller 41that performs wireless communication to an external device.

In the insert molding quality determination system 10, the communicationcontroller 41 supplies the system controller 100 with data sensed by thetemperature measurement element (sensor) 50 and the pressure measurementelement (sensor) 60.

The top of the substrate 21 is covered with a molding resin 80 andsealed with the foregoing lithium-ion battery 30, electronic component40, temperature measurement element 50, pressure measurement element 60and cover member 70 integrally as one unit. The molding resin 80 is aflexible material and can be applied to a watch, a wearable device andthe like. In addition, the molding resin 80 has such specifications thatit can be applied to a low-profile electronic device and the like.

The system controller 100 includes a CPU 101 that controls eachcomponent in accordance with a predetermine program. The CPU 101includes a communication controller 102 that performs wirelesscommunication with the insert molding 20, a sensing signal input unit103 that is supplied with a sensing signal SR, which is sensed by thesensors 50 and 60 during molding, through the communication controller102, a measurement unit 104 that measures a first electrical property Q1before an insert component is resin-molded and a second electricalproperty Q2 after it is resin-molded, an electrical property storageunit 105 that stores the first electrical property Q1 measured by themeasurement unit 104, and a normal-operation sensing signal storage unit106 that stores a reference sensing signal SS during normal resinmolding in the sensors. The first and second electrical properties Q1and Q2 are, for example, battery charge and discharge properties.

The CPU 101 includes a first determination unit that compares thereference sensing signal SS and the sensing signal SR after the resinmolding to determine whether the resin molding is normal or abnormal anda second determination unit that compares the first electrical propertyQ1 stored in the electrical property storage unit 105 and the secondelectrical property Q2 measured by the measurement unit 104 after theresin molding to determine whether the resin molding is normal orabnormal.

A process of determining the quality of the insert molding 20 in theinsert molding quality determination system 10 so configured, will bedescribed with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3.

First, a temperature sensing signal T0 and a pressure measurement signalP0 in the case where molding has normally been performed, are measuredusing a product (insert molding) for prior evaluations and stored in thenormal-operation sensing signal storage unit 106 as a reference sensingsignal SS (ST10). The determination as to whether the molding is normalor abnormal is made by separating the insert molding into parts andconfirming whether the parts are arranged in normal positions.

Then, the charge and discharge properties of the insert molding 20 ofthe actual product are acquired and stored in the electrical propertystorage unit 105 as the first electrical property Q1. After that, thereference sensing signal SS acquired in ST10 is read in the CPU 101(ST11).

As shown in FIG. 2, a mold K is set in the insert molding 20 of theactual product. Then, resin (whose temperature is, e.g. about 150° C.)is poured from a hole Ka and at this time a temperature sensing signalT1 and a pressure measurement signal P1 are measured as sensing signalsSR (ST12). The temperature sensing signal T1 and pressure measurementsignal P1 are input to the CPU 101 and compared with the temperaturesensing signal T0 and pressure measurement signal P0. The CPU 101 thendetermines whether the temperature sensing signal T1 and pressuremeasurement signal P1 fall within a predetermined range (thresholdvalue) based upon the temperature sensing signal T0 and pressuremeasurement signal P0 (ST13). If they fall within the threshold value,the CPU 101 determines the insert molding as a normal one and the flowmoves to ST20. If they do not fall within the threshold value, the CPU101 determines the insert molding as an abnormal one and the flow movesto ST30.

As the principle of the above determination, the behavior of the covermember 70 is observed based upon externally measured values during resininjection molding. Specifically, when the cover member 70 is notdetached (see FIGS. 4 and 5), it insulates the mold from heat and thusthe temperature sensing signal T1 is maintained to have a temperature oft1 (60° C.) or lower as shown in FIG. 6. On the other hand, when thecover member 70 is detached (see FIGS. 7 and 8), the mold is exposed toresin of about 150° C. and heated to t2 (120° C.) or higher. Therefore,when the temperature sensing signal T0 exceeds a given temperature of,e.g. t2 (120° C.) as shown in FIG. 9, the CPU 101 determines thatabnormality has occurred.

Though a detailed description is not given, when the cover member 70 isnot detached (see FIGS. 4 and 5), it protects the mold and thus thepressure measurement signal P1 is maintained within a given pressurerange. On the other hand, when the cover member 70 is detached (seeFIGS. 7 and 8), the pressure measurement signal P1 exceeds the givenpressure range and the CPU 101 determines that abnormality has occurred.

Next, battery charge and discharge properties are acquired as the secondelectrical property Q2 in ST20. Then, the CPU 101 determines whether thesecond electrical property Q2 falls within a predetermined range(threshold value) based upon the first electrical property Q1 (ST21).When the second electrical property Q2 falls within the threshold value,the CPU 101 determines the insert molding as a normal one and the flowmoves to ST22, in which the insert molding is recognized as a product.When it does not fall within the threshold value, the CPU 101 determinesthe insert molding as an abnormal one and the flow moves to ST31, inwhich the insert molding is not recognized as a product. The reason whycharge and discharge measurements are made though the CPU 101 does notdetermine that the cover member 70 is detached is that an unexpectedmalfunction is assumed.

On the other hand, when the flow moves to ST30, the CPU 101 determinesthat the insert molding is damaged, without measuring charge anddischarge properties, due to abnormal temperature and abnormal pressure.

As described above, according to the insert molding qualitydetermination system 10 of the first embodiment, when the lithium-ionbattery 30 that is a heat-sensitive insert component is insert-molded,the quality of the product can be determined even though it cannot bedetermined from the outside of the product. If the sensors have sensedthat the product has received abnormal temperature and abnormal pressurefrom resin, it can be determined as a defective one and prevented frombeing shipped erroneously. In the battery insert molding, therefore, theproperty deterioration and damage in the interior of a battery can besensed. It is thus possible to assure the safety and quality ofproducts.

Note that the accuracy with which abnormality determination is made canbe improved by providing a plurality of temperature measurement elements50 and a plurality of pressure measurement elements 60. Furthermore, aforce vector can be used in which a force sensor capable of sensingforces in x, y and z directions as well as the temperature measurementelements and pressure measurement elements is used as a sensor thatmeasures physical properties.

In the foregoing embodiment, data sensed by the temperature measurementelement (sensor) 50 and pressure measurement element (sensor) 60 istransmitted to the system controller 100 by wireless communication.However, for example, a USE terminal can be provided at the insertmolding 20 such that it is open to the outside, thereby transmittingsensing data to the system controller 100 by wire communication.

In the foregoing embodiment, furthermore, the sensing signal SR is asignal to be sensed by a sensor during molding. However, it may be asignal to be sensed by a sensor after molding, which depends on thesensor.

In the foregoing embodiment, furthermore, the system controller 100determines the quality of the insert molding 20. Instead of the systemcontroller 100, the electronic component 40 of the insert molding 20 maymake the determination and transmit a result of the determination to anexternal device.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the foregoingembodiment. In the foregoing embodiment, the lithium-ion battery isexemplified as an insert molding. Of course, the present invention canalso be applied to an organic EL device, an electronic device bonded byan anisotropic conductive film, etc. as a device that is sensitive toheat.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventiveconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An insert molding quality determinationdevice that determines quality of an insert component after the insertcomponent is resin-molded, the insert molding quality determinationdevice comprising: a sensing signal input unit that is supplied with asensing signal from a sensor disposed close to the insert component thatis a quality determination target, to sense a state around the insertcomponent during resin molding; a first determination unit that isconfigured to perform, after the resin molding, a first determination todetermine whether the resin molding is normal or abnormal based on thesensing signal; a measurement unit that is configured to measure a firstelectrical property of the insert component, which is the qualitydetermination target, before the resin molding of the insert componentand that measures a second electrical property of the insert componentafter the resin molding; an electrical property storage unit that storesthe first electrical property measured by the measurement unit; and asecond determination unit that is configured to perform a seconddetermination to determine whether the resin molding is normal orabnormal by comparing the first electrical property stored in theelectrical property storage unit and the second electrical propertymeasured by the measurement unit after resin molding and making thesecond determination based on a result of the comparison, wherein thesensing signal supplied to the sensing signal input unit and that isused in the first determination by the first determination unitindicates information that is different from the first electricalproperty and the second electrical property that are measured by themeasuring unit and that are used in the second determination by thesecond determination unit.
 2. The insert molding quality determinationdevice according to claim 1, further comprising a normal-operationsensing signal storage unit that stores a reference sensing signalduring normal resin molding in the sensor, wherein the firstdetermination unit compares the reference sensing signal and the sensingsignal after the resin molding to determine whether the resin molding isnormal or abnormal.
 3. The insert molding quality determination deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the insert component is a battery.
 4. Theinsert molding quality determination device according to claim 1,wherein the sensor includes a temperature measurement element.
 5. Theinsert molding quality determination device according to claim 1,wherein the sensor includes a pressure measurement element.
 6. Theinsert molding quality determination device according to claim 3,wherein: the first electrical property is a charge and dischargeproperty of the battery before the resin molding, and the secondelectrical property is a charge and discharge property of the batteryafter the resin molding.
 7. A method for determining quality of aninsert component after the insert component is resin-molded using theinsert molding quality determination device of claim 1, the methodcomprising: receiving, by the sensing signal input unit, a sensingsignal from a sensor disposed close to the insert component that is aquality determination target, to sense a state around the insertcomponent during resin molding; and performing, by the firstdetermination unit, a first determination to determine whether the resinmolding is normal or abnormal based on the sensing signal, wherein thefirst determination is performed after the resin molding; measuring, bythe measurement unit, a first electrical property of the insertcomponent, which is the quality determination target, before the resinmolding of the insert component, and measuring a second electricalproperty of the insert component after the resin molding; storing thefirst electrical property in the electrical property storage unit; andcomparing the first electrical property stored in the electricalproperty storage unit and the second electrical property measured afterthe resin molding, and performing, by the second determination unit, asecond determination to determine whether the resin molding is normal orabnormal based on a result of the comparison, wherein the sensing signalthat is used in the first determination indicates information that isdifferent from the first electrical property and the second electricalproperty that are used in the second determination.
 8. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program executable by aprocessor of the insert molding quality determination device of claim 1,the insert molding quality determination device determining quality ofan insert component after the insert component is resin-molded, whereinthe program is executable by the processor to cause the processor toperform functions comprising: a sensing signal input process ofreceiving, by the sensing signal input unit, a sensing signal from asensor disposed close to the insert component that is a qualitydetermination target, to sense a state around the insert componentduring resin molding; a first determination process of performing, asthe first determination unit, a first determination to determine whetherthe resin molding is normal or abnormal based on the sensing signal; ameasurement process of measuring, by the measurement unit, a firstelectrical property of the insert component, which is the qualitydetermination target, before the resin molding of the insert component,and measuring a second electrical property of the insert component afterthe resin molding; an electrical property storage process of storing thefirst electrical property in the electrical property storage unit; and asecond determination process of comparing the first electrical propertystored in the electrical property storage unit and the second electricalproperty measured after the resin molding, and performing, as the seconddetermination unit, a second determination to determine whether theresin molding is normal or abnormal based on a result of the comparison,wherein the sensing signal that is used in the first determination bythe first determination process indicates information that is differentfrom the first electrical property and the second electrical propertythat are used in the second determination by the second determinationprocess.